#crochetcheat - messy colorwork

When you're changing colors... a LOT... who else hates getting tangled up in your yarn? The only thing worse is weaving in ends (but we won't go there).

So let me show you what I do. It keeps those yarn strands completely untangled, and once you get the hang of it, it's faster than dropping your unused yarn after every color change. Winning.

I only do it this way when I'm changing colors literally every stitch - like certain rounds of my Disc or Old School Beanie. It gets a little trickier if you try to make it work with longer color sections. But give it a try to see if you can work it.

Autism Awareness Graph

April is Autism Awareness Month. In honor of all the exceptional child and adults living on the autism spectrum I wanted to release a new graph. $0.50 of each sale of this graph will go to Autism Speaks. I am also going to auction off the hat and cozy shown below to raise more funds to donate.

The puzzle piece is the symbol of autism to show that each child is special and forms a unique piece in the puzzle, so I decided to go big with this one. You can show your support with both the big design or the smaller one.

Get a copy:
Ravelry - http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/crochet-graph---autism-awareness-puzzle-color-grid
Craftsy - http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/accessory/autism-awareness-puzzle-color-grid/50647
Etsy - https://www.etsy.com/listing/128418979/crochet-graph-autism-awareness-puzzle

** UPDATE **

With your help, I was able to donate $214 to Autism Speaks!! Thank you for helping me make the auction and sales of the graph such a success! :)

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Evolution of a Graph

I've had a lot of fun creating graphs to go along with the Graph Beanie Pattern! And thank you for all your suggestions and seeing hats you've made from the pattern - keep them coming! I definitely have more ideas than time to do all of them. I made the decision to test every graph I release, and for some reason, my new TMNT graph has given me a few problems along the way. BUT, this shows you why I take the extra time to test each and every graph. I want it to be the best it can be and sometimes that means going through several drafts to get to the final product! Some of the differences are subtle, but combined, they make a big difference from the first to the last versions. :)

1. Obviously not right - one eye is all wonky
2. The wonky eye is better, but I don't like that he's looking to the side. I also didn't like the overall shape of the eyes
3. So I started completely over with the graph design. I like the shape of the eyes, thought it was right until I took some pictures of the hat on my son. The eyes are too far apart and it looked more like a bug than a turtle
4. Moved the eyes closer, but forgot ad moved them an odd number of rows - the eye went wonky again.
5. YEAH! EUREKA!!

the "bug" TMNT

This is why it sometimes takes me a while to get it right, haha. But I'll either get it right or scrap the graph, so you always know you're getting a quality pattern!! 

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Crochet Techniques: COLORWORK

Candy Cane Hooks from Twinkie Chan

The other day I had a random crochet lightening bolt. Usually I get inspired with a new design or color scheme, but this time it was a little different. I had an idea to do a blog series on different crochet techniques that I've learned or taught myself along the way. If you're new to crocheting, hopefully this will help advance your skills and give you the confidence to try new patterns that you may have been shying away from. If you've been crocheting for a while, I'll have advanced tips to push you even farther!

Keep in mind this is how I do things. I've developed my techniques over 5 years, but not every crocheter or designer does things the same way. Since I mostly make hats, that's what I'm going to focus on. Some of the techniques will be a little different when crocheting a flat piece. Today it's all about COLOR! It's one of my favorite things! 

Changing Colors at the end of a Round:
The first thing you should master is how to change colors at the end of a round. There are a few different ways I do this, depending on the pattern. The main goal is to conceal your seam, so you don't have an ugly line running up the back of your hat. 

For a simple beanie (using any st: sc, hdc, dc...) like the one above and most of my patterns: 

With "old" color work last stitch to the last two loops on your hook. YO with new color & pull through. JOIN with new color.

Several of my patterns follow different rules though, but I always let you know if it's different. It's SO important to read the notes in any pattern. A good designer will let you know how to get the best results possible.

Jogless Stripes Tutorial:

Next up, I want to let you know about NeedleNoodle's tutorial on Jogless Crochet Stripes. It's basically my favorite tutorial out there. She uses her method to make amigurumi (those cute little crochet animals) but I've used it in my sc hats, and Playin' Hooky Discs. So go check it out!

Color Charts:

The next trick to master is crocheting patterns or pictures using a graph. Most crochet (and knit) graphs are laid out on a square grid, like graph paper, and crocheted with sc's. But if you've ever crocheted anything completely in sc's, you'll notice that the sts don't line up directly on top of each other. They slant! I had a lot of trouble with this when I was attempting to make a Canadian Maple Leaf Beanie. I started out with this grid and got something that looked more like a spaceship with lobster claws.

  

Then a crochet friend of mine, Benjamin Krudwig clued me into a little trick. Why not use a hexagonal grid to lay out your design? Such a simple idea, but it really changed the way I thought about tapestry crochet! Here's what happened:

It actually looked like a maple leaf! I Googled "Hexagonal grid", printed one out and played with the design until I was happy with it. It's also what I use for my Old School Beanie. This is the exact same pattern using a square grid (left) and a hexagonal grid (right):

  

Remember, when working any type of complex colorwork, finish the last st of your "old" color to the last two loops on your hook. Then YO with your new color and pull through to finish the st. Continue working with your new color until you need to change again!

That's all for this time. There's always more to learn though so feel free to leave your tips or ideas in the comments for everyone to see!

You can try these tricks out with pretty much any of my patterns, so check out my store and get inspired!!!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Release the Hounds (part 2)

WOW!! I can't believe the response I got from my recent release of my newest pattern, Reversible Houndstooth Beanie.

Let me back up a little... I'm getting together all my new designs to send to my photographer. The plan was to have a 2012 new Design Preview Sale to show you what I've been working on, before I get the final proofs back. I listed 15 copies of my Houndstooth Beanie on Monday, but before I could even finish posting about it on my Facebook page, ALL 15 copies had SOLD!! I had several posts about how upset some people were because they missed it that I decided to leave the pattern permanently. All in all, I sold WAY more than the 15 copies I thought I would sell. I was overwhelmed and excited by the response!! I literally couldn't believe it!

Even though I still don't have the professional photography finished, I will continue to have the pattern listed on Etsy, Ravelry, my website, and coming soon to my Craftsy page!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

Release the HOUNDS!

...Houndstooth that is. Please forgive my extreme cheesiness, haha. Today I am FINALLY releasing a new design. The Houndstooth Headband. I've been wanting to use the traditional Houndstooth pattern for a while and was finally able to do it now that I quit my day job!

Last Spring I started looking around for houndstooth patterns because I thought it'd be fun to make something for my mother-in-law. But, all I found were a LOT of knitting patterns, and some not-so-houndstoothy crochet patterns. So you know what that means. I made my own! Traditionally houndstooth uses black and white to show off the contrast of the pattern. But I think it'd be fun in most color combinations, as long as the 2 colors have contrast. I also wouldn't try it in a variegated yarn because it'd probably take away from the stitch pattern. But it's up to you to try different things!! Oh, and did I mention - IT'S REVERSIBLE!!

So here it is! I have a photographer on stand-by, but I want to send her all my new designs at once. So for now, we'll have to make do with my not-so-professional photography, haha. But my kids are still cute!

Get your own pattern:

Playin' Hooky Designs

Etsy

Ravelry

 It's reversible!

SNEAK PEEK:

Coming up next - the reversible Houndstooth Beanie!

PLAY HARD ~ PLAY HOOKY

All you need is friends

Only thanks to all my fabulous friends, online & off, I've made it through the last few weeks. Recently I've been working on a specific Canadian hat (I'll tell you why on another day...) and it has to be perfect. The hookers out there will tell you that color work looks cool in crochet, but is REALLY hard to get right when you make a letter or picture. I needed a Canadian maple leaf and was having a really hard time making the reference chart.  If you're not familiar with crochet, it takes a much smaller grid than knitting because the stitches are 'taller'. So all the charts out there are way too big to use for a crocheted hat. I had to make my own...

This is the best that I could come up with. I was never that happy with it. To me it looks like a space shuttle with lobster claws, but my online friends assured me that it did in fact look like a maple leaf. So I made the hat....

... and I hated how it turned out. Crochet stitches sit on a diagonal (see how the stem is slanted?) so the lobster space ship came out looking worse that I expected. But again, all my friends were very supportive, some liked it, others admitted it was slightly 'off'. One in particular, Ben Krudwig, let me in on his secret for crochet colorwork. I'll keep it secret since it's his technique, but let me tell you, it's BRILLIANT. I remade my grid and used it to redo the hat...

I'm still awed by how well his trick worked! The color lines up and now it's obviously a maple leaf. No guessing, no lobster jokes, just pure Canadian!

So I wanted to write this post to thank all the people who helped and supported me over the last few days. I really couldn't have done it without you, hookers & non-hookers alike!

HAPPY HOOKING!!